A total of five recent Hope College graduates have received recognition through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
Joshua Chun Wah Kam of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who graduated in December, received a research fellowship. He will be in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, at Gadjah Mada University for 10 months beginning in September, researching the ways that Javanese communities have imagined and revered Ratu Kidul, a local sea goddess, from the 15th century to the present day. He will also seek to explore the ways that historical and contemporary Indonesians have employed local ritual and mythology to combat colonialism in the 21st century.
Joshua Briggs of Holland, who graduated in December, was named an alternate for a research fellowship to study biology/ecology in Trinidad and Tobago. Alexandra DeJongh, who graduated in May, was named an alternate for an English teaching assistantship to Belgium.
Anna Van Deelan of Duluth, Minnesota, who graduated in May, was recognized as a semifinalist for a research fellowship to study public health in Germany. Natalie Vela of Clarkston, who graduated in May, was recognized as a semifinalist for a research fellowship to study public health in Mexico.
Since 2008, 29 Hope students or recent graduates have received awards; in addition, several others have been named alternates or semi-finalists. This year’s Hope honorees began the application process in either the fall of 2016 or the spring of 2017. They were mentored during 2016-17 by Dr. David Cunningham, who is a professor of religion and director of the national Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), and Dr. Janis Gibbs, associate professor of history; and during 2017-18 by Gibbs and Dr. Stephen Maiullo, associate professor of classics.
Established in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 1,900 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.